SAME opponents, same stage, different outcome. While Everton’s last FA Cup meeting with Middlesbrough ended the reign of one manager, another is heading relentlessly towards a date with destiny.

From the moment Middlesbrough were confirmed as the Blues’ opponents in the last eight, it was inevitable that comparisons would be made with Walter Smith, who lost his job after a 3-0 defeat at the Riverside Stadium in March 2002, and David Moyes.

This week will see Moyes celebrate seven years in charge at Goodison Park and the club he now presides over is a million miles and more from the one he strode into days after that harrowing experience on the banks of the Tees.

So it is fitting, you will agree, that Moyes can look forward to a semi-final date against Manchester United at Wembley next month, a showpiece occasion which every Evertonian will be hoping is about to become the norm.

Of course, the vast majority of the population will have cast a glance at the last four draw and written off Everton’s hopes of progressing any further in this competition, as United have steamrollered all that has been put in front of them recently.

If anyone says the same to you, don’t listen. Just cast your mind back to 1995 when similar noises were made; wasn’t it a forgone conclusion that Sir Alex Ferguson would lift the Cup as consolation for missing out on the title?

The more people that will write off Everton’s chances over the next five weeks, the better it will be; you see, this squad does not capitulate like the one that was humbled by Middlesbrough in 2002.

Had they been of that ilk, today we would have been conducting a post mortem on an insipid defeat and lamenting the fact that Everton never turned up for their most significant match of the season.

Make no mistake, that could quite easily have been the case. Wretched in the first 45 minutes and trailing to a David Wheater header, Moyes was faced with the nightmare scenario of losing the game that they were expected to win.

Thankfully, after a half-time rollicking from assistant manager Steve Round, some words of encouragement from Moyes and a tactical switch, Everton emerged with the bit between their teeth and ultimately kept their hopes of securing a piece of silverware alive.

Nerves and apprehension went some way to explaining why the anticipated blitzkrieg in the opening exchanges failed to materialise but there was another more obvious reason behind Everton’s failure to pass the ball with any cohesion.

When Mikel Arteta crumpled to the floor at St James’ Park a fortnight ago, it was quickly accepted that his absence would have a detrimental effect on Everton’s attacking ambitions and that, sadly, is proving to be the case with each passing game

In the weeks before his cruciate ligament was severely damaged, Arteta was in sumptuous form, playing with the panache and confidence of a matador, teasing and tormenting those opponents who stood in his way.

Everton, unfortunately, do not have another player of his type, an individual who demands the ball, sees passes that bit quicker than everyone else and can make things tick with metronomic precision.

With the little Spaniard out until next season, that needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency and it must be hoped that the performances of Steven Pienaar and Leon Osman in the second period will act as a catalyst for them to assume his mantle.

Add into the equation that blustery conditions prevailed, the first half became something of a war of attrition; neither side produced anything remotely resembling what you would call flowing football, while Everton, for some reason, seemed to lack passion.

Then came the 15 minutes that might just have provided the Toffees with fresh impetus for the remainder of the campaign, as whatever was said in the sanctuary of the home dressing room clearly worked the oracle.

Take Marouane Fellaini. He seemed more interested in wrestling with Robert Huth and shouting at referee Mark Halsey before the break but afterwards looked every inch a midfielder of huge potential.

Halsey does not tend to book players but those who like a wager would have placed good money on him taking Fellaini’s name, his patience must have stretched to breaking point as behaviour became increasingly erratic.

Yet once he scored Everton’s equaliser, a towering header from Tim Cahill’s pinpoint cross, the Belgian settled down and made an enormous contribution, benefiting from Louis Saha’s introduction for Jack Rodwell.

Saha might have only figured sporadically since he joined the Blues in August but few would dispute that he has made an impact in most games in which he has played; yesterday’s contribution, however, outweighed them all.

You don’t spend four years playing for Manchester United nor do you represent France without talent and Saha, clearly, has it in abundance, as he showed with the most subtle of headers to complete the turnaround.

With Pienaar conjuring up a cross from the left that begged to be converted, Saha did the rest, nipping in between two defenders to glance his effort beyond Jones’ despairing grasp. Cue bedlam.

Having resembled a morgue for 45 minutes – can anyone explain why there was so much booing in light of recent form? – suddenly Goodison was the bouncing, hostile environment it always should be for these type of games, an explosion of noise greeting Saha’s goal to banish the anxiety and frustration.

Should the Frenchman stay fit for the remainder of the campaign, the chances of Phil Neville - outstanding yet again - hoisting the Cup aloft on May 30 will dramatically improve and if Everton can get past United, there would be no team more deserving.

Of course, the talk will centre around United winning every trophy and certain observers will already be talking about them having one foot in the final, especially as Ferguson has an incredible record in domestic cup semi-finals.

Football, however, is not a game that goes exactly according to plan. Unbeaten runs always come to an end when they are least expected and ‘invincible’ falter just when things seem to be going to plan.

Fingers crossed, then, that Everton’s David has his slingshot ready when he locks horns with the Goliath that is Ferguson.